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i e-Collaborations and Virtual Organizations Michelle W. L. Fong Victoria University, Australia IRM Press Publisher of innovative scholarly and professional information technology titles in the cyberage Hershey • London • Melbourne • Singapore TeAM YYePG Digitally signed by TeAM YYePG DN: cn=TeAM YYePG, c=US, o=TeAM YYePG, ou=TeAM YYePG, email=yyepg@msn.com Reason: I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document Date: 2005.02.22 05:44:49 +08'00' ii Acquisitions Editor: Mehdi Khosrow-Pour Senior Managing Editor: Jan Travers Managing Editor: Amanda Appicello Development Editor: Michele Rossi Copy Editor: Ingrid Widitz Typesetter: Amanda Appicello Cover Design: Lisa Tosheff Printed at: Integrated Book Technology Published in the United States of America by IRM Press (an imprint of Idea Group Inc.) 701 E. Chocolate Avenue, Suite 200 Hershey PA 17033-1240 Tel: 717-533-8845 Fax: 717-533-8661 E-mail: cust@idea-group.com Web site: http://www.irm-press.com and in the United Kingdom by IRM Press (an imprint of Idea Group Inc.) 3 Henrietta Street Covent Garden London WC2E 8LU Tel: 44 20 7240 0856 Fax: 44 20 7379 3313 Web site: http://www.eurospan.co.uk Copyright © 2005 by IRM Press. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, without written permission from the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data E-collaborations and virtual organizations / Michelle W.L. Fong, editor. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-59140-231-X (pbk.) ISBN 1-59140-285-9 (hardcover) ISBN 1-59140-232-8 (ebook) 1. Virtual work teams. 2. Virtual reality in management. 3. Virtual corporations Management. I. Fong, Michelle W. L. HD66.E3244 2005 658.4'022 dc22 2004003766 British Cataloguing in Publication Data A Cataloguing in Publication record for this book is available from the British Library. The views expressed in this book are those of the authors, but not necessarily of the publisher. iii e-Collaborations and Virtual Organizations Table of Contents Preface vi Michelle W. L. Fong, Victoria University, Australia Chapter I Knowledge Sharing Infrastructure and Methods for Virtual Enterprises 1 Farhad Daneshgar, The University of New South Wales, Australia Pradeep Ray, The University of New South Wales, Australia Fethi Rabhi, The University of New South Wales, Australia Hala Skaf-Molli, LORIA, France Pascal Molli, LORIA, France Claude Godart, LORIA, France Chapter II Workplace e-Collaboration in Practice: Practical Guidelines for Implementing e-Collaboration in Organizations 29 David Mayrhofer, University of St. Gallen, Switzerland Andrea Back, University of St. Gallen, Switzerland Chapter III Using Web Services in Business-to-Business Integration 61 Frank Goethals, SAP-leerstoel Extended Enterprise Infrastructures, K.U.Leuven, Belgium Jacques Vandenbulcke, SAP-leerstoel Extended Enterprise Infrastructures, K.U.Leuven, Belgium Wilfried Lemahieu, K.U.Leuven, Belgium iv Chapter IV Peer-to-Peer Corporate Resource Sharing and Distribution with Mesh 98 Ramesh Subramanian, Quinnipiac University, USA Brian Goodman, IBM – Advanced Internet Technology, USA Chapter V Collaborative Engineering Communities – Architecture and Integration Approaches 120 Norbert Gronau, University of Potsdam, Germany Chapter VI Strategic Use of Virtual Organization 151 Jinyoul Lee, State University of New York at Binghamton, USA Mike (Tae-In) Eom, State University of New York at Binghamton, USA Bonn-Oh Kim, Seattle University, USA Chapter VII Successful Virtual Organizations as Collaboration Networks: Descriptions and Experiences from Two Norwegian Examples 169 Jan Frick, Stavanger University College, Norway Chapter VIII Virtualization as a Process of Transformation of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the Global Virtual Organization 184 Jerzy Kisielnicki, Warsaw University, Poland Chapter IX Impact of Activities in the Virtual Environment 206 Michelle W. L. Fong, Victoria University, Australia Chapter X Seamless Multiparty Videoconference 231 T. Lertrusdachakul, The University of Tokyo, Japan A. Taguchi, The University of Tokyo, Japan T. Aoki, The University of Tokyo, Japan H. Yasuda, The University of Tokyo, Japan v Chapter XI ITFG: Design and Experience with a Groupware System 252 Georg Peters, Munich University of Applied Sciences, Germany Tobias Lang, Munich University of Applied Sciences, Germany and Lang und Lie Software GbR, Germany Mike Lie, Munich University of Applied Sciences, Germany and Lang und Lie Software GbR, Germany Chapter XII E-School Administration Systems 276 Moh’d A. Radaideh, UAE University, United Arab Emirates Sharaf S. Horani, Multimedia University, Malaysia Harmain M. Harmain, UAE University, United Arab Emirates About the Authors 305 Index 313 vi Preface Collaboration is a process by which individuals and/or groups work together on a practical endeavor. Collaborative work is a fundamental feature of orga- nizations and is increasingly being supported by technology. The advent of ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) in network formation and support has enabled collaboration to take place on a virtual dimension, re- gardless of time and location. This form of working relationship through the electronic network is known as e-Collaboration (electronic collaboration). The development of these technological capabilities and e-Collaboration ini- tiatives is changing the way individuals and groups perform and interact, as well as the scope of traditional processes and workflow. e-Collaboration offers an unprecedented way for organizations to share information and knowl- edge, and to better integrate business, work or learning processes. It sup- ports the formation of virtual organization, which is a network of organizations and/or individuals who share a common purpose or objective. The concept of virtual organization has been receiving considerable attention since the 1990s (Dividow and Malone, 1992). The main advantage of virtual organizations is that they do not require the type of infrastructures and bureaucracies that have traditionally governed organization formation in the physical world. In the virtual network of organizations, participants share and access available re- sources regardless of their locations. It has also been noted that small and medium organizations can form virtual organizations to compete with big mar- ket players on a playing field which once excluded them, but now can be leveled by e-Collaboration tools and processes (Tetteh, 1999: Kocian, 2003). These small and medium organizations can use e-Collaboration leverage for seamless integration of inter-organizational processes and form virtual organi- zations (such as with suppliers and customers) to satisfy the needs of their customers or achieve strategic objectives. vii Overall, organizations of different sizes are motivated to adopt e-Collabora- tion and virtual organizational forms because of putative benefits such as lower cost of operation, increased efficiency and improved customer service (Abramowicz, 2003; Patterson, 2003). Their interests are also driven by increasing market globalization and competition, which challenges individuals and organizations not only to communicate effectively and efficiently, but also to do so on a consistent and value-adding basis. Virtual organization emphasizes the creation of more collaborative relation- ships among individuals or organizations, and e-Collaboration tools are a key element in supporting such organizational transformation, especially systems that facilitate coordination and communication, decision making and the shar- ing of knowledge, skills and resources. e-Collaboration that supports virtual organization formation can take the following forms: 1. Structured e-Collaboration, involving the creation and exchange of struc- tured documents and processes as required by the normal business pro- cesses; and 2. Unstructured e-Collaboration, involving the creation and exchange of non-standard documents, and open-ended types of communication (such as impromptu meetings and discussions). These exchanges of standard and non-standard documents or communication processes can take place in asynchronous or synchronous mode: 1. Asynchronous mode includes email, instant messaging, newsgroup or discussion database. Asynchronous collaboration occurs when there is an exchange of information, which various parties may receive at differ- ent times. 2. Synchronous mode includes real-time chatting, instantaneous exchange of information or group interactive sessions through video-conferencing. Synchronous collaboration occurs when two or more parties exchange information simultaneously. e-Collaboration tools that are capable of the above-mentioned forms and modes play an important part in fueling the growth of virtual organizations in e-commerce and e-learning. These tools can help add value to collaboration among enterprises in B2B (Business-to-Business) and B2C (Business-to- viii Consumer) e-commerce and e-learning, particularly in enabling sophisticated partnership alliances and interdependence among individuals and organiza- tions. Although e-Collaboration and virtual organization initiatives have gen- erated new business models and opportunities, they do not automatically lead to definite business success, lower operating cost, increased sales or profit. e-Collaboration and virtual organization cannot be realized efficiently if exist- ing organizational and technological infrastructure, and market structure are not taken into consideration. Organizations will face a number of challenges, both technical and cultural, during implementation of e-Collaboration and for- mation of the virtual organization. The ability to generate the potential benefits of e-Collaboration and virtual organization depends on successfully re-de- signing or adapting processes, developing methodologies and applying new technologies in the attempts to achieve application interoperability, business process compatibility and international applicability across the value chain. In addition, true cross-platform integration needs a culture that instills and fos- ters cooperation, trust, commitment and understanding among all participants. The Challenges e-Collaboration is still a relatively new area and there are few case studies, tools or methodologies available to help ensure successful implementation of e-Collaboration processes for the formation of virtual organizations. The lim- ited empirical evidence of successful e-Collaboration is attributable not only to the short history of e-Collaboration software, which only began to appear in the mid-to-late 1990s, but also to the challenges associated with this revo- lutionary way of operating and sharing information. An important component in e-Collaboration is a common data standard for integration of operations. Presently, there are few industry-recognized stan- dards, definitions, rules and solutions for e-Collaboration. When organiza- tions first adopted ICT for automation and communication, the concept of e- Collaboration among trading partners was a remote one. As a result, various technology and data standards were adopted based on each individual organization’s needs, and this gave rise to islands of networks that now need to be integrated and coordinated if e-Collaboration and virtual organization are to be realized. These organizations will have to make the investment nec- essary for replacing redundant or older systems, synchronizing non-compat- ible systems and databases across organizational boundaries, or even building ix a dynamic platform that incorporates multiple standards, thus making it pos- sible to manage complex relationships in virtual organizations. Because of the limited empirical evidence on the costs, risks and benefits associated with e- Collaboration, organizations are uncertain or hesitant about how much they should embark on e-Collaboration initiatives, for the formation of virtual or- ganization. Another challenge of e-Collaboration for virtual organization lies in the poten- tial change to different organizations in the value chain. The concepts of e- Collaboration and virtual organization can change the face of traditional busi- ness and relationships, by requiring operations to be conducted in a more transparent way, displacing hierarchies by teamworking and flexible working patterns, and sharing information in ways not customary in the past. In other words, e-Collaboration can change the organizational structure, strategy and competition for all participants. It is also envisaged that it could lead to the transformation and convergence of industries in the long run (Cartwright, 2002). If e-Collaboration efforts are not properly managed and planned, the whole process can turn out to be too costly and controversial, by for example stir- ring up resentment and conflicts among participants in the value chain. Par- ticular value chain participants might be hesitant in entrusting their resources, critical business functions and data to such a new way of operation. Coordi- nation and collaboration are more difficult between firms than within a single firm. In the integration of business or work processes, particularly between different organizations, learning curves and non-technical issues associated with integrating products and services must be taken into consideration be- cause they can potentially inhibit e-Collaboration. For example, resistance to change and low trust levels can make individuals and/or groups reluctant to participate and collaborate (Hart and Estrin, 1991; Kraut et al., 1998). Com- plexities associated with e-Collaboration could vary in different organizations and would depend on the role of each organization in the value chain. Another challenge of e-Collaboration for virtual organization formation re- lates to the fact that transactions, processes, and the sharing of data and knowl- edge can transcend borders. Cross-border activities can involve not only cul- tural issues but also jurisdictional issues. The ephemeral and borderless na- ture of e-commerce and virtual organization poses a significant challenge to the static and traditionally jurisdictional nature of law. For example, the juris- diction of conventional courts over disputes is geographically-based, but the mechanics of such jurisdiction fit very uneasily with the structure of the Internet. Any conflicts or inconsistencies between laws of different countries would inhibit e-Collaboration. This is partly why it has been difficult to profile a ‘typical’ example of successful e-Collaboration for virtual organization. x There is also the challenge of establishing infrastructure and policies that set effective security and privacy standards for protecting data and network in- tegrity. A secure infrastructure that supports authentication and secure trans- mission of proprietary and confidential information help instills trust in the col- laborative network. Security and privacy levels can differ across organiza- tions and borders, and cannot be fully addressed by software alone. Col- laboration across various enterprises requires a clear and well-defined roadmap governing security and privacy of confidential data. This may require the in- tervention of policy negotiators to translate and broker policy among partici- pants in the value chain. Because e-Collaboration processes and implementation can be complex and challenging, participants must establish who should be the expert or change agent in creating value for all partners in the value chain or network. Should e-Collaboration implementation be outsourced to an independent party or involve relevant stakeholders across the value chain? It seems that the selec- tion criterion for undertaking this assignment is how well the chosen individual(s) understand the complexities of different e-Collaboration issues in the integra- tion of the different processes. Most of today’s e-Collaboration solutions were developed with corporate intranets in mind, and e-Collaboration tools still have a long development path before being able to offer everything to everyone, in other words capable of achieving seamless integration (Jaquith, 2002). The efforts in optimising the entire value chain through e-Collabora- tion and virtual organization are likely to be plagued with challenges. e-Collaboration and Virtual Organizations Following are some issues that readers may want to consider while reading the chapters in this book: • While e-Collaboration investments are hard to justify or verify, most e- Collaboration literature postulated putative gains. Full-fledged e-Col- laboration throughout the whole value chain can impinge on the resources of a firm and may exceed its capabilities. In such situation, should the firm set up pilot installations consisting of selective collaboration features for its core operations, or more expensive full-function seats? How should [...]... frequent in virtual space, and re-illuminates the meaning of ontological and epistemological existence of virtual organizations The authors also explore how competitive advantages could be gained by virtual organizations Chapter 7 describes two successful virtual organizations (TESA and RKK) and attempts to identify features that may have had a role in their success It describes the lifecycle and conditions... remarks and future work Collaborative Infrastructure for Virtual Enterprises Since a great portion of the research in virtual enterprises focuses on virtual teams, and the fact that the majority of these findings are also relevant to the subject matter of this chapter, some of the common features of virtual enterprises in general, and virtual teams in particular are discussed in this chapter Virtual. .. the development of both organizations Based on these case studies, the author suggests that a “change agent”, combined with a strategy of “open door” policy, relationship building, and shared benefit, is important for establishing successful virtual organizations Chapter 8 presents theoretical and practical perspectives on the virtualizaton of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and their use of IT services... The authors of this chapter found that virtualization could dramatically change the image of SMEs In addition, these enterprises could use new developments in IT to transform themselves into Global Virtual Organization and become fully competitive against large organizations Chapter 9 identifies the positive potential and impact of the Internet on individuals and organizations, as well as some of the... research/reports/acrobat/atstake_securing_ecollaboration.pdf Kocian, C (2003) The virtual centre: A networking co-operation model for small businesses e-JOV- The Electronic Journal of Organizational Virtualness Retrieved on December 29, 2003 from http://virtualorganization.net/news/nl_1.2/kocian.stm Kraut, R., Steinfield, C., Chan, A., Butler, B and Hoag, A (1998) Coordination and virtualization: The role of electronic networks and personal relationships... This book e-Collaborations and Virtual Organizations covers a broad range of topics, from underlying technological structures to fundamental mechanisms that are relevant to e-Collaboration and virtual organizations Case studies are also included in this book The chapters in this book represent a resource from which knowledge, lessons, and views can be drawn for reflection and/ or practical application... conferencing for virtual teams requires high-bandwidth and easy deployment To be effective, video-conferencing requires ip-multicast deployment and bandwidth reservation Also, virtual teams need quick deployment in order to be able to act effectively This means that the network has to be configured dynamically to provide video-conferencing with appropriate quality of service Existing virtual team software... relationship and creating trust is probably more of an art than a science at present Participants in e-Collaboration have an obligation to ensure their behaviors contribute to a healthy and stable Internet environment for their organizations and societies We need to have an effective regulatory regime that enhances the development of a network economy xii Organization of the Book This book e-Collaborations and. .. the authors for sharing their insights and knowledge, and making an excellent contribution to this relatively new area of research I am also grateful to my colleagues Gordon Campbell and Rod Turner from Victoria University for their constant support for and feedback on my research works Thanks go to my friends both in Australia and overseas for their generosity and beautiful friendship Finally, I want... friendship Finally, I want to thank my family members, especially my mother and younger sisters, for their support and encouragement throughout this project Michelle W L Fong, PhD Editor January 2004 Knowledge Sharing Infrastructure and Methods for Virtual Enterprises 1 Chapter I Knowledge Sharing Infrastructure and Methods for Virtual Enterprises Farhad Daneshgar The University of New South Wales, Australia . iii e-Collaborations and Virtual Organizations Table of Contents Preface vi Michelle W. L. Fong, Victoria University, Australia Chapter I Knowledge Sharing Infrastructure and Methods for Virtual Enterprises. network of organizations, participants share and access available re- sources regardless of their locations. It has also been noted that small and medium organizations can form virtual organizations. various technology and data standards were adopted based on each individual organization’s needs, and this gave rise to islands of networks that now need to be integrated and coordinated if e-Collaboration and